My years with the chorus have been fantastic and fun beyond words. I will forever sing the praises of this organization and share with people what being part of the chorus has meant to me. At my high school graduation at the Mello Center, I was asked to give a speech. A fellow classmate asked, "Aren't you nervous to talk in front of all these people?" I replied, "Well, I sang on this stage a few weeks ago, so I guess I can give a speech." I wasn't the least bit nervous.

-- Kasey Mathew, 2009 Con Brio Graduate

History
The Cabrillo Youth Chorus was founded in 1998 by Cheryl Anderson, Director of Choral Activities at Cabrillo College, and a group of parents who were members of Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus.

The Chorus rehearses at Cabrillo College although it does not receive funds from the college; the program is funded by tuition and donations from the community, and governed by its own board of directors.

The group was quickly recognized for its excellence and has performed a varied and multi-lingual repertoire with Cantiamo!, Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus, South Valley Symphony, Winchester Symphony, Cabrillo Opera, Santa Cruz Youth Symphony, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and the Santa Cruz County Symphony.

The Youth Chorus travels to regional choral festivals to sing and learn with other young vocal groups, as well as producing concerts each fall and spring and performing at weddings and special events.

In 1998 the group participated in Leonard Bernstein's Mass with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

Other high points include the premiere of A Rat's Tale by Henry Mollicone with the Santa Cruz Youth Symphony, Bach's St. Matthew Passion with Ensemble Monterey, and travelling to Palm Springs to sing at the dedication of a Healing Pole carved by young people in Monterey (now installed at the Bronx Zoo).

Fall of 2002 brought "Cabrillo Sings," a fundraising event by and for the chorus which included films and a live performance. In 2003 the Youth Chorus joined the Santa Cruz County Symphony and Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. In 2004 singers from the Chorus travelled with Cheryl to the Heart of the Valley Children's Choir Festival in Corvallis, Oregon. In the spring of 2005, the Con Brio section of the Youth Chorus appeared with Cantiamo! and the Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra in the premiere of of Canticle of Light by Stephen Tosh. In June 2005 singers from the Youth Chorus travelled to Prague, St. Petersburg and Moscow with Cheryl Anderson's Cabrillo Touring Chorus, performing in a Dvorak festival and in historic cathedrals. The entire Youth Chorus took part in the March 2006 first annual Bach Around The Clock event with local choral groups, as well as performing songs in Japanese for the Abalone Symposium and Festival in Monterey in April. The Youth Chorus Con Brio section rejoined Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra and Cantiamo! in May 2006 for the world premiere of a commissioned work by composer Imant Raminsh, The Peace of Wild Things.